Choosing Sides
by CasperAndCrutches
Summary: Prequel to Opposing Sides. When the world begins to divide, Aislynn decides that she wants to stand up for what she believes in. Aislynn decides to choose her side. One-shot. Complete. WARNING: Dark Violence.


**Hello to all of my beautiful readers! About a month ago I received a PM asking for a story about how my main character from Opposing Sides (Aislynn) joined the Death Eaters. I had no problems doing so but since Opposing Sides was a one-shot idea I had; well I had to actually figure out how she joined. It took me a little bit to create a world around that one-shot but here it is!**

 **I may post other one-shots in this world as ideas come to me. But if you'd like to see something specific just ask! So thanks KClown!**

 **\- Casper**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Sadly.**

 **WARNING: In my opinion, this story is much much darker than Opposing Sides. Just be aware of that.**

* * *

"Alecto. Slow down. What are you talking about?"

Aislynn sighed at her friend who was speaking so fast that no one could understand what she was saying.

"I met him."

"Me who?"

"Him."

Eyes went wide at Alecto's firm proclamation.

"What? How? When?"

Celine leaned forward, excitement shimmering in her eyes.

"Yesterday. He came to my father, wanting to meet Amycus. Apparently, Lucius Malfoy has been giving him names who could be of use."

"What happened?"

Ash spoke quietly, but it didn't matter; the table was silent, everyone eager to hear about the meeting.

"I got myself introduced and discovered that he plans on letting witches join. He asked if I knew anyone who would support the cause. I gave him all of your names."

Ash sat silently while the table erupted into excited chatter. When Celine, Wilhelmina and Cassandra all left, both Aislynn and Alecto elected to remain.

"You've been quiet."

"I'm always quiet."

"Quieter than usual. Aren't you happy? I know that we've talked about it before. Neither one of us showed any hesitation at serving the cause. Wait, you're not doubting..."

"Don't be ridiculous. Neither my beliefs nor my resolve has changed... Isabelle. She's been ranting against him again."

"Ahh." Alecto leaned back knowingly and set Ash a small smile. "I know it's got to be tough, but you can't let that dissuade you."

"I'm not. She won't change my mind; and even though I know we've drifted apart, I still can't help but wonder how everything will play out"

"Who knows. Maybe he won't want you."

Alecto teased and Ash rolled her eyes.

"Of course he'll want me. He's not stupid. He finds a use for everyone, but he especially wants people who are useful. Celine's betrothed to Greengrass, Wilhelmina to Bullstrode and Cassandra to Adams. Taking that into account, along with their personalities and they'll serve in the same capacity as Narcissa. Married, gathering information and integrating themselves into the upper echelon of society."

"I'm betrothed."

Alecto pointed out and Ash smirked.

"Even if you would be content to pretend to be a mindless society wife, you're different. We're different. People like us... Well. Let's just say we can do things that others can't. Or won't."

"You're talking about when we went to the Black's last summer."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about. Aside from Bellatrix, we were the only females who didn't get sick."

"That was a fun time."

A quick grin shot across Ash's face, lighting up her normally stoic face.

"Yes. Yes it was... So, when's the meeting?"

* * *

The park was empty when Ash apparated to the designated spot. After glancing down to confirm that she was in the correct place, she moved quietly down the path in front of her. Within a few minutes, her fears were allayed by the sound of raucous laughter. Rounding the corner Ash was greeted by the sight of witches and wizards in black robes playing with a group of clearly terrified muggles, or possibly mudbloods, but there wasn't really a difference between the two in Ash's eyes so she didn't really pay much attention.

"Aislynn! You're here!"

Ash heard Alecto's voice before she saw her best friend. Knowing that her loud friend would find her, Ash stopped where she was and waited. When her friend's blonde head popped up in between two wizards Ash smiled.

"Hello Alecto."

"You're late!"

Alecto threw her hands onto her hips and glared before laughing and giving Ash a quick hug.

"Sorry, I got roped into a family dinner and I didn't want to cause any reason for them to ask questions."

A frown marred the beautiful witch's face.

"I forgot your family isn't like mine."

Ash brushed Alecto's comment aside with practiced ease.

"I'm here now. What have I missed?"

"Not much. We haven't actually started yet."

The pair began to wander around, using the time to make connections amongst the people gathered.

"Everyone gather round!"

A loud voice resonated through the crowd and everyone fell silent. Alecto grabbing her hand was the only warning that Ash had before a tug had her trailing helplessly as she was dragged through the crowd.

"We're all here tonight to welcome some new members into our ranks. Amycus Carrow, Alecto Carrow, Severus Snape, Theodore Nott, William Adams, Aislynn Mahoney. Step forward."

Ash felt Alecto squeeze her hand tightly before letting go and stepping forward. Ash closed her eyes and took a deep breath before stepping forward determinedly.

The crowd took a step back and the future members stood front and center in front of Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord. It was the first time that she had seen the Dark Lord in person; although she had heard Bellatrix ramble on about him enough that she had thought that she had been prepared for his appearance. One quick look banished that thought completely. Although his face was full of sharp angles, and his eyes held a slight red tint to them, he was undeniably an attractive man. He also exuded raw power and Ash's respect for him skyrocketed when he silenced the crown with a single raise of his hand.

"But first, before you can join our esteemed ranks; you must prove yourself. Do I have a couple of volunteers?"

Ash exchanged a quick look with Alecto before stepping forward.

"We would be honored my lord."

She stood tall and proud as the Dark Lord examined her and Alecto closely before nodding his head.

"Very well. Behind me are a selection of muggles and mudbloods that have graciously volunteered to play some games with us this evening."

He let out a low chuckle and Ash grinned as every single one of their volunteers cringed.

"Pick out a few and have some fun. Then I have one more surprise for you."

Ash walked over to the pen where the mudbloods and muggles were penned. Ash inspected them quietly and when Alecto walked up, Ash whispered her idea under her breath. A dark grin stole across her face and she nodded her head.

"I love it. Which one do you want."

Ash turned back to the pen and inspected them again before finally pointing at a terrified woman, probably about 25 years old.

"Her."

"Any reason in particular?"

"She's scared, she wants to live. But she's not paralyzed by fear so she'll actually put up a fight."

Alecto cackled.

"Oh Ash, I love the way your mind thinks."

Ash guided their toys out of the pen and then transfigured two nearby rocks into daggers. She directed the women towards the knives and when they didn't move Alecto shot them both with a stinging hex. They both yelped and moved quickly towards the daggers, but then hovered awkwardly. Ash sighed at the stupidity from the pair but then realized that she had expected too much of them.

"Pick up the knives," Ash waited until they had complied with her order before continuing, "Now. One of you will have the chance to escape. But, only one of you will have that opportunity."

Ash watched with glee when what she was saying finally clicked. They both glanced down at their daggers and then at each other. They both began to tremble and sob.

"Please. Please don't. I don't want to."

Ash ignored their sobbing and turned to Alecto.

"Alecto. Did you hear that? They don't want to. I suppose we could change our mind."

Alecto shrugged.

"We could. I might have to get creative. Hmm. Death by a thousand cuts? Cuts and then pour acid? I could always break every bone in their body one by one. Oh wait. I did just read about this one spell. I've only tried it out on small animals so who knows what it'll do to a larger one."

Ash turned back to their toys.

"Did you hear that girls? Would you like to be Alecto's guinea pigs?"

"No. No. No... Anything but that."

One of the girls babbled while the other one shook like a leaf.

"Well then. I suggest you get a move on."

Ash shot a stinging hex towards her girl and watched with glee as the pair began to fight. Together, Aislynn and Alecto kept the fight going by assisting the losing woman until the match was even again. They let this continue for 5 or 10 minutes, enjoying the cheers of the Death Eaters and the sobs of the women in front of them.

After analyzing the fight, Ash looked and Alecto and nodded her head. She lowered her wand and watched as the two women, covered in blood and cuts, viciously fought each other. Within a minute, one of the girls went down and the victor stabbed her a few more times before standing up. Ash let out a sad sigh.

"I think you owe me dinner, mine won."

Alecto giggled as she watched the blood-soaked woman stand.

"Fine."

Ash responded as she walked over and stared down at her, now dead, plaything.

"And to think she had such potential."

Suddenly the other woman dropped to the ground and began to sob.

"Oh. What... What have I done?"

"Why you've won of course." Alecto told the woman in a patronizing tone. "And now it's time for your reward. Go on. Try to escape."

The woman, still sobbing, pulled herself to her feet and started to run. Ash waved aside the Death Eaters in front of her and they grinned as they complied with Ash's request. With a quick wave of her wand, Ash tossed up a shield and watched with amusement as their prey ran straight into it and rebounded backwards.

Alecto and Ash took turned shooting spells at the woman and blocking her path until she ended up back where she had started. Deciding that it was time to bring their show to an end Ash grinned before pointing her want at the woman.

"Crucio."

The woman screamed and after a few seconds Ash let Alecto take over. They continued like this for a few minutes until the woman was a blubbering mess on the ground.

"Would you like to do the honors?"

Ash glanced at Alecto who shook her head.

"As much as I would love to, your girl already died. You should take her; besides, you owe me dinner. It wouldn't be very caring of me to take the kill too."

"How generous of you Alecto."

Ash gripped her wand tightly, pointed it at the woman and spoke clearly.

"Avada Kedavra."

Even though the whole performance had only taken maybe 15 minutes, to Ash, the whole thing had felt like it had lasted for hours. She walked over to Alecto and together the two of them turned to face the Dark Lord.

"That was highly entertaining, and creative. A very enjoyable performance."

"Thank you, my Lord."

Alecto spoke demurely as the pair bowed their heads.

"You two work well together. It's not something that one sees every day. I may have to keep you paired up. But one last thing."

The Dark Lord paused and a few moments later, a Death Eater walked out of the woods pushing along two familiar faces.

"I believe that you both know these two?"

"Of course, my lord."

"Kill them."

"Aislynn. Please. Please don't do this."

Ash turned to look at William Cobb, the mudblood Hufflepuff prefect that she was stuck with as a partner for her rounds.

"What makes you think that begging will get you anything?"

"But, you know me."

"Correction. Used to know you."

Then without wasting a single minute, Ash waved her wand and watched as a green jet of light flew from her wand and hit her target. Alecto's test hit the ground mere seconds later.

The pair received approving nods from the Dark Lord and grinning, the pair slipped back into the lineup. The rest of their prospective class performed their tests solo and although none of them were as creative or long, they were enjoyable none the less.

Ash watched eagerly as the Dark Lord stepped forward once more.

"Well done. More than just a test, tonight was a way for us all to get to know you. Get to know how you think and I know I'm not alone when I say that I'm very excited about our newest recruits."

Cheering accompanied his last words and the Dark Lord indulged them for a few moments before he quieted everyone down.

"Hold out your arm."

Ash pulled back the sleeve of her robe and pushed her pale forearm into the space in front of her.

One by one the Dark Lord moved down the line. When it was Ash's turn, she met the Dark Lord's gaze evenly before looking down to watch him place his wand against her forearm. Immediately Ash followed the examples of those before her and dropped to the ground. As the Dark Mark burned itself into her arm, she bit her tongue to hold back a scream, or maybe a sob. Even so, Ash was unable to contain the tears that escaped and so Ash closed her eyes as she clutched at her arm.

Finally, the pain faded to a dull ache and Ash opened her eyes. She made her way to her feet before looking down at her arm. The snake was slithering around and the midnight black color was a drastic difference to the alabaster that was her forearm. Quickly wiping away her tears, Ash stood up tall and waited for the Dark Lord to speak again.

"You came here tonight as hopefuls. You leave here tonight as one of us. Congratulations."

The dismissal was clear and the group was quickly surrounded by their new family who offered congratulations. Conversations turned to how each person handled ourselves and Ash quickly found herself and Alecto bombarded with praise over their work.

"Miss Carrow, Miss Mahoney. A moment if you'd please."

Ash spun and bowed her head when she found the Dark Lord standing in front of her. She saw Alecto follow suit as the other Death Eaters dispersed, giving them space.

"What can we do for you my Lord?"

"You are betrothed are you not Miss Carrow?"

"I am my Lord. To Henry Flint."

"And you are acceptable of the match?"

"It's a good match my Lord; but, on a personal level, yes my Lord. I am pleased with the match."

Ash forced herself not to chuckle at Alecto's statement. Her best friend was absolutely mad for the eldest Flint.

"Good. Henry is one of my best followers, I don't see him having any issues with you participating in raids. And you Miss Mahoney?"

"No, my Lord. I am not betrothed."

"Why is that Miss Mahoney?"

"After my birth father died, my mother married another. One less comfortable with my birth father's ideals. As a result, many of the families that I would consider acceptable were hesitant about my family."

Ash flinched when Alecto's elbow jabbed into her side.

"And..."

Ash sighed and continued Alecto's statement.

"And my stepfather has some fairly liberal ideas regarding marriage. He doesn't believe in arranged marriages or in dowries."

"Hmm..."

The Dark Lord fell silent and then chuckled.

"I'm sure you are confused as to my interest in this particular topic. Let me explain."

"Not only did you both volunteer for tasks unknown, but you were particularly creative and showed that you are well versed in all manners of the Dark Arts. Even more of a surprise was how well you work together. I would very much like for you two to be partners during raids or any other tasks that I come up with. However, a suitable spouse is important. One who supports your activities is extremely important and if they can support you financially, then you don't have to work, increasing your effectiveness to me."

He paused, rubbing his finger over his chin thoughtfully.

"Miss Mahoney, I will look into a suitable match for you. But for now. Mingle. I have grand plans for the both of you. Welcome to the Death Eaters."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away. Ash took a deep breath and looked over at her best friend.

"We did it."

"Of course we did. We're fantastic. We seriously impressed them Ash."

"I know. That was… Euphoric."

"And now we get to be partners. You fine with that?"

Ash beamed at Alecto.

"I wouldn't want it to be anybody else."


End file.
